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Tuesday, September 26, 2017

Costa came to see my little garden!

We had a local garden competition and our council managed to negotiate Costa from Gardening Australia to be one of our judges! My gosh - heart palpitations!!! I knew I had to enter, but was away just before that, leaving the garden in the hands of my non gardening hubby. Added to that we were in a drought when I returned, and the bandicoots were wreaking havoc in the garden.
I got stuck in, and tidied up, mulched, and planted new seeds in the wicking boxes (which were just microgreens when he arrived!)

The first thing you see when you enter my garden is fruit salad alley and we began to chat about getting kids interested in gardening. The volunteer tomatoes in the mulberry pot have had a wonderful side effect. I tied the stakes up into a teepee and this protected the mulberries from the birds., plus it is also fun to go scouting around looking for a plump ripe mulberry.

The strawberries were also just starting to ripen, since then I have enjoyed a few little garden treats.

Everyone commented how much cooler it was once you got into the side garden and could enjoy the shade of the lychee tree. I think Costa would like to come back in lychee season and climb that tree! (he is a bundle of energy) I notice there are a few little lychees plumping up, it has taken a while since we lopped the top off the tree, but at least now we will be able to reach the harvest.

He commented that the pathway around the tree was a great idea, and I do like that I can reach into all of the garden beds from the pathways. I also like the fact that he noticed I was growing the same kind of plants as my neighbour, therefore making my garden seem larger.

One big advantage of cutting the tree back is that we now have much more light into the garden which means more flowers. Of course as soon as Costa left we got a night of good soaking rain and suddenly the garden looked lovely and colourful once again. That is the nature of gardening though.

I explained that we were right between seasons, I showed him the worm buckets, but forgot to mention that this area is cleared because I am getting ready to grow ginger here. I explained about how well the wicking beds work, and that the barbadoes cherry provides shade for the veggies. I forgot to mention that I throw weeds onto the weed mat path, and then once in a while (just before a visit from a special gardener!) I will turn over the weed mat, smothering the weeds, and leaving a clean path.

I forgot to mention that this straggly lemon is one that I keep to practice my grafting. Hopefully next time he comes back one of my grafts will have taken.

I also gave him a bit of my peppercorn vine as he wants to try to grow it in his garden in Sydney. It will have to be in a hothouse I reckon!

Hi Lorraine,I have been amazed to hear how many overseas people watch our gardening shows. I think it is amazing that we can gather gardening knowledge from all over the world. Happy gardening to you too!

How fantastic! Isn't he a dynamo! A few years ago, I met him when I did a professional development course looking at school/community gardens. I loved that he was, in person, exactly the same enthusiastic and energetic and optimistic person he appears to be on television. I'd have so many questions if Costa came to visit...I'd ask him about the soil, about the avocado tree I'm trying to save ever since the bandicoots drilled holes around it's dripline etc. etc. I'm afraid I'd talk to much!!! Meg:)

Oh, what a well-deserved honor! I'm so happy for you! Your garden is amazing, I've no doubt Costa was impressed.

I had a famous hosta guru tour our garden a long, long time ago. I was all wound up, trying to get everything nice and neat for his visit. Unfortunately, he was not very friendly at all and actually quite a curmudgeon with a lot of opinions on my gardening skills (or lack thereof). We were quite let down after he left. I'm SO glad you had a wonderful visit!

So sorry that your visit went that way - Gardening is not just skill and following the rules, I firmly believe it comes directly from your heart. Your garden is amazing, so I am glad you didn't let him beat you down!

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Quotes I enjoy

Shipping is a terrible thing to do to vegetables, they probably get jet-lagged, just like people do - Elizabeth Berry

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" Philippians 4:6-7

The secret of happiness is not found in seeking more,

but in developing the capacity to enjoy less

- paraphrased from Socrates quote

“See how nature—trees, flowers, grass—grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence. We need silence to be able to touch souls.” – Mother Teresa

Nature in all its diversity grants us a glimpse into the heart of God the Father which is nothing but Love.

It is not what you look at that matters, it is what you seeHendry David Thoreau

Making a garden is not a gentle hobby for the elderly,to be picked up and laid down like a game of solitaire. It is a grand passion. It seizes a person whole, and once it has done so he will have to acceptthat his life is going to be radically changed. May SartonPlant Dreaming Deep, 1983

When the trees sing,It doesn't really matterIf you know the song, Or if you know the words,Or even if you know the tune.What really matters is knowing ....That the trees are singing at all.Mattie Stepanek, 1990-2004

To find the universal elements enough; to find the air and the water exhilarating; to be refreshed by a morning walkor an evening saunter;to be thrilled by the stars at night:to be elated over a bird's nestor a wildflower in spring... these are some of the rewards of the simple life.John Burroughs, 1837-1921

Happiness is like a butterfly: the more you chase it, the more it will elude you, but if you turn your attention to other things, it will come and sit softly on your shoulder…”– Thoreau

“Exercise is a dirty word. Every time I hear it I wash my mouth out with chocolate.” ~ Charles M. Schulz

You who walkmaybe with troubled thoughts....Come, enter here and restand may the sweet serenityof growing things....and the heavenly peacebe mirrored in thy soul.by Michael Palmer

Gods GardenThe Lord God planted a gardenIn the first white days of the world,And he set there an angel wardenIn a garment of light enfurled.So near to the peace of HeavenThat the hawk might nest with the wren,For there in the cool of the evenGod walked with the first of men.And I dream that these garden closesWith their shade and their sun-flecked sodAnd their lilies and bowers of roses,Were laid by the hand of God.The kiss of the sun for pardon,The song of the birds for mirth, -One is nearer God’s heart in a gardenThan anywhere else on earth.For He broke it for us in a gardenUnder the olive-treesWhere the angel of strength was the wardenAnd the soul of the world found ease.Dorothy Francis Gurney

Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are. Let me learn from you, love you, bless you before you depart. Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow. Let me hold you while I may, for it may not always be so. One day I shall dig my nails into the earth, or bury my face in the pillow, or stretch myself taut, or raise my hands to the sky and want, more than all the world, your return.Mary Jean Iron

There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.Albert Einstein

Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass on a summer day listening to the murmur of water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is hardly a waste of time."~ John Lubbock******************************************************